The Letters K and L
by Mandy the StoryWeaver
Summary: Kagome finds the mysterious Ryuga at a café's grand re-opening, and her life is totally changed. The same Shinigami is seen in both the past and the future, and he loves apples? L discovers strange secrets... will he act on them? Please read & review! CH6
1. Cake

**Mandy: And welcome to my new fanfiction!**

**L: You have other fanfiction to write! Bad Mandy! No more cake for you!**

**Mandy: But… but… you're in this one, and you get to eat cake! Lots of it…**

**L: … I revoke the part about no more cake, here you go! -hands over a whole cake-**

**Mandy: Yay! -om nom nom-**

**Kagome: Then what am **_**I**_** doing here?**

**Mandy: Why, you're in this too, silly! Who doesn't like a good Death Note x Inuyasha crossover now and then?**

**Light: Mandy does not own Inuyasha or a Death Note. Although she did make a Death Note out of construction paper. That looks like crap.**

**Mandy: Don't make me give you a bad ending in this story… Anyways, enjoy this as much as I did in making it! :3 You can tell where I really let the story flow~

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**Chapter 1: Cake

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Kagome walked home from school, slightly adjusting the yellow bag on her back. 'Luckily I don't have too much homework today,' Kagome thought, a small skip in her step. The grand opening of Cake Castle Café was today. She couldn't wait to get a taste of the endorphin-making little piece of heaven called a cake. The rumor was that a cake from this café was supposed to be the best in the world, and that to have one would bring you luck in love. Kagome doubted both, knowing that this rumor was spread to get a large flow of lovesick girls and sweet-tooths into the shop.

And, ok, so maybe Kagome was attracted to sweets, just a little bit. What of it?

Cake Castle Café – CCC, or Triple C, for short – was extremely packed. Kagome saw a couple of her friends, but all of their tables were full. From over the sea of people, she did not see a single seat open. Again, she scanned the large café and finally spotted a booth nearly empty, save for the one person who was sitting there. And there was a reason why there was only one person sitting at it.

The man sitting at the table was… extremely eccentric. His eyes were wide and unblinking – judging from the bags under them, it looked like he'd never slept a wink in his life. He wore a loose white t-shirt and jeans, sitting in an awkward position in the booth, his knees up to his chest and pressed up against the table. His raven hair matched his eyes, and was messy and looked like he never groomed himself – much like Inuyasha. Kagome uneasily found that he was gazing at her as she walked over to his table. He managed to get her to meet his eyes once, but she looked down quickly, feeling uncomfortable.

"Excuse me, sir," Kagome said, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"One of my friends is coming to meet me here," he replied, a thumb to his mouth, looking more like a monkey than Inuyasha with that gesture. "You can sit here until then."

Kagome sat across from him. He grabbed a menu, putting it between them like a shield, and she might've been offended if it weren't for the fact that he was obviously deciding what he wanted to order. Kagome picked her own menu up, mouth watering as soon as she saw the names and pictures of different types of cakes. While she was drooling at them, a waitress in a cute maid outfit (of course…) came up to them, but she didn't look extremely happy, even with that huge smile plastered on her face.

"What would you like to order?" She questioned. Kagome stared at the strange man, who looked like he was still looking it over, so she opened her mouth to reply.

"I'd like to order two slices of everything, please." Kagome gaped – that voice wasn't hers, but the monkey man's! "Half of it is for you, of course," he replied after glancing at her, noticing her open mouth, as if _that_ was supposed to make her stop. The waitress left, eyes wide, not having to write down anything to remember such a weird order.

"W-Why'd you do that?" Kagome said, "I could've ordered for myself, you know. Also, I don't have enough to pay for that!"

"It's quite alright," the man said, sipping on a teacup that she didn't realize was there. "I can pay for it. You were the only one who would sit with me here, even with that, what would be called, 'strange behavior' of mine…"

"I've seen stranger." Kagome said, straightforward. "But I really have to repay you for your kindness." She looked through her school bag for something. She paused. "I never did get your name, though."

"Nor I yours."

"I'm Sango." Kagome said suddenly. She wondered why her miko intuition told her to lie about her name. "Sango Taisho."

"I am Hideki Ryuga. Nice to meet you… Taisho-san." His eyes slightly narrowed. "You're not related to the model Sesshoumaru Taisho, by chance, are you?"

Luckily, Kagome was saved from answering that when three waitresses carrying two trays each came to their table. Ryuga didn't mind if there were cakes put onto the same plate – they brought out a few whole cake plates to piece together different cakes onto one. It was kind of funny, really. Chocolate, white, strawberry, and all flavors and colors of cake put together to make a strange whole cake – to Kagome, that "cake" reminded her of the mysterious Ryuga. A bunch of weird characteristics pieced together to make something even more weird.

Ryuga immediately dug into the cake, snapping Kagome out of her thoughts. She gazed at the cakes, trying to decide which one to eat first. She pointed her fork to one cake, but saw a cake that looked just as good, and turned her fork upon that one instead. This pattern repeated itself, with no cake having been eaten yet.

"Here," Ryuga said, bringing his fork with a bite of cake on it to her mouth, "Try this one." Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but this just gave him the opportunity to stick the fork in her mouth. Withdrawing the utensil, he watched as she chewed. Her eyes lit up, and she slowly smiled.

"That was good! Which one was that?" She asked after swallowing. Ryuga looked at her oddly. "Ryuga-san?"

"It was strawberry butter cream, white, blueberry toppings." He said, quite specific. Although Ryuga was certainly odd, that didn't make him unkind. It was actually kind of… kind of…

"Oh, my gosh! Kagome!" She froze, turning to see her three friends – Yuki was the one who had spoken. They stood in front of the table, eyeing Ryuga strangely. "Are you on a date?"

"What?" Kagome said, for a moment not quite understanding a word that was said to her. Ryuga gazed at Yuki with unblinking eyes – not that it looked like he blinked, anyway.

"Yes we are." He said, causing the girls to unanimously say "No way!" "And if you'd excuse us…" They all nodded, walking out the door, giggling.

"Just wait until we tell Hojo-kun!" One of the girls whispered. Kagome groaned.

"Why'd you tell them that?" Kagome whined, "Now they're going to go absolutely bonkers for 'details' after school tomorrow!"

"A lie for a lie." Ryuga said, stuffing another forkful of cake in his mouth. "Isn't that right, Kagome No Last Name-san?" At least, this is what she thought he said – his mouth was full of cake. She sighed, eating the slice of cake he had described to her. It was mouthwatering… but why didn't it taste as good as Ryuga's?

"I'm sorry, Ryuga-san. For some reason, I felt uncomfortable telling my name first. After all, you didn't even give me your real name." Kagome popped a strawberry from one of her cakes into her mouth. She felt her eyes water slightly from the freshness, and was about to pop another one in her mouth when Ryuga stopped her. "Hmmm?"

"That's mine!" He said, snatching the stolen strawberry. She realized that it was true, watching as he ate the strawberry, licking her fingers of leftover juice. They continued to eat, but in silence. "Can I ask you a question?"

"As long as it isn't too personal," Kagome replied, taking the last bite of her second cake. "Sure."

"What do you think of Kira?"

She was extremely shocked – the cake never reached her mouth. Kagome was frozen with surprise, eyes wide. 'Kira? He's asking me about Kira? Is he being serious?' Ryuga watched her expression like a hawk, interested at her reaction, so she had to change it, or he'd start getting suspicious of her when she had nothing to do with it!  
"Ahh, are you a Kira vs. L watcher? I don't really know what I should think about it. I have my own ideas…" Kagome paused, mentally whacking herself on the forehead. 'Shut up! Your ideas have to do with the supernatural! Just keep talking like a natural…' "But, it's nothing you'd want to hear." She blew the topic off, relieved to be off of it. "So, when –"

"Don't go off the subject." He said, gazing at her. He hadn't moved from his position since he asked the question. "You have an opinion, say it. Don't let any fears of Kira or L get in your way." She blinked at him – Kagome was, strangely, beginning to trust Ryuga. There was something about him that was… likeable. Even if he lied about his name, or…

"Kira is wrong. L is justice. Killing is a sin, no matter who is killed." Kagome blurted out, surprised at herself. He still gazed at her, but ate a bite out of another piece of cake. She waited for him to say something about this, but he just started eating again.

"My friend has just arrived." Ryuga said suddenly just as Kagome was about to put the fork full of cake in her mouth. "But it's alright. You can stay. After all, you want to pay me back, don't you?" She nearly choked on her cake.

"But didn't you say –"

"I changed my mind. Maybe you can still pay me back." He waved behind her, and she heard footsteps. Kagome turned to watch but was instead startled by the face of – of some kind of demon! It crouched in front of her, staring her right in the face. It grinned widely and wildly upon discovering that she was seeing it. She glanced over at Ryuga, wondering if this was the friend he was talking about, but he was looking at a young man on the other side of the table, who slid into the booth next to her.

"Hello, Ryuga-san," he glanced over at Kagome, slightly surprised. "And who is this?"

"This is Sango Taisho," Ryuga answered for Kagome immediately. 'There must be a reason why he's using that fake name now, besides not knowing my last name…' She saw that the demon was now sitting next to Ryuga, still staring at her. This time, it seemed focused on something above her head. Neither Ryuga nor his "friend" seemed to see it. "Taisho-san, this is Light Yagami."

"Hello, Taisho-san," Light greeted, turning to face her, "How do you know Ryuga?"

Again, Ryuga answered for her. "This is my girlfriend." Kagome looked at him flatly as he smiled slightly – perhaps the equivalent of a grin for someone like him (or the equivalent of a twitch of Sesshomaru's lips, but either way…). Ryuga sipped his tea again.

"I'm _not_ his girlfriend," Kagome corrected, "I just sat here because it was the only table available at the time." Light seemed confused, and he chuckled a bit. "What's so funny, Yagami-san?"

"Ah, please, call me Light, Taisho-san," he replied, smiling at Ryuga. "Ryuga, I've never seen you flirt before. It's kind of funny. Misa would say that it's 'cute,' even!" His friend only stuffed more cake into his mouth grumpily.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ryuga mumbled while eating. While they "bickered" (if you could call it that), Kagome glanced back at the demon – actually, she figured it might be a Shinigami, although she had never seen one. She marked it off as her miko intuition at work again. The Shinigami seemed to enjoy the conversation – although he (she determined that it looked male) couldn't contribute. Kagome was the only one that could see him, and hear him, apparently.

'If it's a god of death, then…' Kagome blinked, coming to a conclusion. 'Is it… er, _he_ going to come for one of us, as in, one of us is going to die?' She was about to further this train of thought, but one of them said her "name." "Hmmm?"

"Are you alright? It looks like you've seen a ghost." Ryuga said, inserting at least a dozen sugar cubes into his tea, which had been refilled by their waitress.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kagome replied, eating more of the delicious cake. "And, please, call me Sango, _both_ of you." The Shinigami chuckled, gazing into her face with unblinking eyes wider than Ryuga's.

"So, you were about to tell me your 'ideas' on Kira, weren't you, Sango?" Ryuga said, taking a teaspoon to mix his sugar-filled tea. Kagome laughed nervously, not knowing what to say. 'How do I tell people that I think there's more to the case than what humans know now? To explain things like Shinigami and demons?' Kagome decided to stick to the "realistic" aspect of her ideas.

"Well, Kira can kill with a face and a name… quite obvious, that fact," she said, poking at one of her cakes with a fork, "After all, L said so himself in his first broadcast. There also has to be two Kiras now, because one seems to be able to kill with only a face. I happened to be watching Sakura TV when that happened. So, two Kiras."

"Correct," Ryuga said – as if this was a quiz, or test – ! 'Wait, it probably _is_ a test.' Kagome realized, 'The only person who would really quiz another person about Kira theories is…' "Please, continue."

Suddenly, Kagome's phone rang, playing "The World" by Nightmare loudly, causing her and the people around her to jump. She dug around in her bag for her tiny phone, retrieving it among a pile of papers ('I hope that's not my math homework…') all crumpled up. The caller ID told her it was from home.

"Moshi-moshi?" She answered after flipping her cell phone open.

"Hello, Kagome," her mom's voice replied, "How is the new café?"

"It's great – you should bring brother sometime." Kagome said, using the term "brother" instead of saying "Sota," if she was to assume that either of the people in the booth might research it, especially the one who she thought was… "But, really, what did you call for?" Her mother sighed.

"You know me so well. Inuyasha's practically bouncing off the walls waiting for you to get home. Could you pick up some ramen for him on the way home?" It was Kagome's turn to sigh.

"Alright, mom. I'll be home soon then. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Kagome hung up, placing her phone back into her bag. "It was nice to meet you two, but I have to get home now." She stood up to leave, slipping on her backpack.

"Where do you live? I'm sure Watari and I would be able to drive you there." Ryuga said, eyes meeting hers (kind of, if only he'd lift up his head). What he didn't add was, "And so I can know where you live so you can pay me back."

"Ah, no, I'm alright," Kagome replied tactfully, "I don't live too far, so I can just walk…"

"Then I will walk you home." He insisted. She sighed inwardly – there was no way she was going to get rid of him now. "Light, Watari can take you home." The teen nodded, and they all left together after boxing away all of the cake into three boxes. One was Ryuga's, because he had quickly eaten most of his; the others were obviously Kagome's. She insisted on carrying her own when Ryuga tried to take hers. He shrugged, handing them to her. Light said his farewells, stepping into a – limo? Ryuga was right when he said he could pay for all of that cake!

"You know, you really don't have to do this," Kagome said, watching Ryuga's slouched walking form. "I can make it home on my own."

"And let you get away with not paying me back?" He questioned. "No." There was a silence for the longest time.

"Well, I actually have someplace else to go besides my house, so…" Kagome said, remembering the ramen she had to get. "You don't really need to walk me home…"

"Oh, where are you going? I have nothing to do at all today. I only had to meet Light-kun for a bit." Ryuga said nonchalantly, as if he didn't know that she was trying to ditch him. "And I can get a ride home at any time."

Kagome's eyebrow twitched. 'I'm never getting rid of him, am I?' "Well, I just need to get some instant ramen for my… ah, little brother." This wasn't a total lie – Sota did like ramen, but Inuyasha liked it a _whole_ lot more.

"I know a good place for that – there's a convenience store right around this corner," he said with what seemed to be his version of a smirk, which was hardly a curve of his lips. 'He's a clever s.o.b., isn't he…?' Kagome thought angrily as she followed him into the store he suggested.

She strolled down the aisle, but noticed that Ryuga wasn't there. Kagome turned to watch as Ryuga stood to one side of the door, carefully observing a man wearing a hoodie who just walked in. 'That man seems familiar somehow…' She had grabbed a shopping basket, so she filled that up with whatever different kinds of ramen she saw. She lost track of Ryuga. 'Well, if I lost him for the rest of the evening, then good riddance.' The man was walking up the aisle, hand casually in his hoodie pocket. Nervously, she sidled down with her basket, but the man followed discretely.

Just as Kagome was about to make it to the cash register to pay, the man suddenly wrapped his arm around her neck from behind, pulling a gun casually out of his hoodie pocket and pointing it at her head. The cashier's eyes widened as the man grunted out his demands for all the money they had. The girl behind the counter was obviously scared stiff. Kagome couldn't blame her – she had fought countless evil demons of enormous strength before, but none of them had ever pointed sophisticated gun technology at her head – at such close range, too! 'Help, anybody…'

A foot abruptly came into sight, hitting the thief in the face. It gave Kagome just enough time to glance at her attacker – it was Yukio Kurosawa! His face was shown on the news many a time for his burglaries of small chain stores like the one they were in now. He was slightly taller than Kagome, with dark hair and an undistinguished face; it was no wonder no one could find him, since he looked like any average Japanese man! However, the only discernable feature on his face was a scar he had gotten from a ricochet bullet when running from the police, which was only noticeable if one was up close, since it was right below his ear, on the jaw line. And Kagome was _definitely_ close enough to notice.

Kurosawa straightened up rapidly after being hit, roughly pulling Kagome by her hair to get her to turn around again as he pointed the gun at her head. She saw that her defender was Ryuga himself! He had taken off his beat-up shoes and thrown them aside, posing for what seemed like capoeira, which Kagome found surprising. Kurosawa laughed, pressing a knife against his victim's throat. 'A knife? When did he get that?'

"Unhand her immediately, or I will have to take action to ensure everyone's safety." Ryuga said, his gestures loosening as he began to do small ginga movements, swaying back and forth.

"Don't move or I'll –" Kurosawa began to say as he tightened his grip on the knife, but Ryuga executed a perfect martelo technique (which, basically, is a roundhouse kick in capoeira terms) straight to his temple, knocking him to the ground. Kagome ran past him, nearly dropping her shopping basket, which she amazingly had held onto the whole time. Kurosawa groaned, the knife slipping from his fingers.

"You," Ryuga pointed at the frozen girl behind the counter, who jumped upon being spoken to, "Call the police."

Kagome watched Kurosawa carefully to make sure he didn't get back up. Unexpectedly, he gripped his chest, screaming in immense pain. "Ryuga-san –!" Kagome cried, getting his attention. He turned to watch the man, eyes wide.

The miko gazed flabbergasted as a dark-colored flash of light flew into Kurosawa's chest. Just as quickly as it had started, it was over.

The thief died of a heart attack.

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Kagome stood outside of the convenience store with the bag of ramen in her hands. The ambulance and police lights flashed through the night, reflecting off of the glass doors as they opened, and she caught a glimpse of a stretcher being rolled out, a blanket over a mass laid out on it. She looked away only to find Ryuga standing there, looking at her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, "I know that it's hard on victims, so I just came to say –"

"What do you mean?" Kagome shouted at him, her voice breaking. "A man in front of me died, and died because of Kira!"

"Shhh, now you don't know that –" Ryuga tried to mollify her.

"Why else would he die of a –" She gasped as he slapped a hand across her mouth, dragging her to a quieter locale, where there weren't as many police listening.

"Kagome-san, you'll be okay. Is this the first death you've seen?" He asked calmly, stroking her hair, which was strangely soothing to Kagome – although she should tell him to stop, she didn't.

'The first death wasn't human… Mistress Centipede was a demon… but…' Kagome gazed off, images of human body parts strewn across the ground, mothers' detached arms still holding on to crying children, the village in disarray due to demons – 'But this was different. I was here to see the death… even if it wasn't as violent. I was there. Could I have stopped it? Even if he was trying to kill me…. What a dishonorable way to die! How unjustified!'

"Kagome-san, can you hear me? Kagome!" Ryuga patted her head, and she came out of her reverie. "You've been traumatized. I'm sorry that this happened to you. Here." He handed her the boxes of cake – she hadn't realized that she had given them to him when she went into the store. "I know sweets don't make it all better, but they sure do help."

She watched his serious expression as he said this statement, and she laughed. "Yes, I'm sure they do!" Kagome took her two boxes, and they walked up the street together. "I guess I won't be able to get rid of you now, will I? I feel like such a damsel in distress! I suppose you'll at least be a gentleman and walk me home _now_, since it's so dark." She smiled.

"I was being a gentleman before, you know." Ryuga scolded, adjusting one of his shoes with his other foot while Kagome kept on walking. He caught up when he was done.

They walked in silence, the noises of the night the only sound to interfere. "Hey, Ryuga-san."

"Hmm?" He murmured, gazing down at their shoes.

"Are you L?"

It was like everything slowed for half of a second – Ryuga's eyes widened slightly. Kagome watched him carefully as they stopped at the corner, waiting for the light to tell them to WALK. "What would make you think that?"

"Just that comment _proves_ you're L. That was a quick response, don't you think? Wouldn't an average person have a blow-off comment like 'Yeahh, right!'?" Kagome glanced both ways on the street, and began to cross, even though the light was still on DON'T WALK. Ryuga quickly followed.

"Ok, so what if I was L. What would you do about it?" The strange man asked, a thumb pressed to his lips as they stopped in front of a shrine. Kagome paused to think about it.

"Why, I think I'd give you a big hug, and tell you good luck with the Kira case, and that I'd be rooting for you." She said, smiling, "But, ahh, this is where I live, so I have to go; my mom's probably worried sick, since I had to be interrogated by the police for so long."

"Kagome Higurashi." He said.

She tilted her head. "What?"

"I found out your surname. This is the Higurashi family shrine, with the adjacent Bone Eater's Well Shrine." He waved at her. "Good-bye, Ka-go-me." The way he said her name sent a chill up her spine, which was an oddly nice feeling.

"Seeya later, Ry-u-ga!" She said, climbing up her family shrine's many steps.

Ryuga, most called him, turned, opening the door to Watari's vehicle and sliding inside. He monitored Kagome as she walked up the steps, school skirt swaying. And then that man became L, the elusive detective on the case of Kira, the serial killer. He tapped on the glass that separated the front of the car from the back, and Watari rolled it down.

"Yes, Master Ryuzaki?" The older gentleman said as they pulled away from the curb. L sat in his usual position, thumb to his lips – but today there was something different… perhaps it was the small smile that grew there.

"Remind me when we get home to look up… Ka-go-me Higurashi."

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Ryuk, meanwhile, watched Kagome enter her home from his perch on a lamppost nearby. If he weren't already, Ryuk would've grinned. "Kagome… I see you've come back."

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**Mandy: OMG! It's done! -confetti- I didn't really expect it to be this long. When I was writing this out, I totally forgot that Kagome had to go and get ramen, so this chapter turned out **_**waaayyy**_** better than I thought it was going to!**

**Kagome: **_**What?**_** So you mean to say that in the original, I never had to watch a man die of a heart attack!**

**Mandy: You betcha! You're lucky I came up with that so fast!**

**Next time: Ryuk and Kagome meet? When did this happen! And L sees something… atrocious! What could it be? Find out in the next chapter!**

**Feed a writer – leave a review!**

_Edited/Updated 6/2/10_**  
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	2. Shinigami

**Mandy: While in my pain and suffering, I became so bored I decided to type up the next chapter – please be thankful! My mouth hurts!**

**Kagome: Since she didn't fill you in, Mandy got her wisdom teeth taken out a few days ago.**

**Mandy: Oh the agony! I look like a pumpkin because of my swelled cheeks!**

**Light: Anyways… Mandy doesn't own DeathNote or Inuyasha, and will undoubtedly never own them, or any original plot.**

**Mandy: If my mouth didn't hurt so much, boy, I'd bite you. -glare-**

**Thank you for all of your lovely reviews! I didn't think I'd get so many from the first chapter~ that's exciting to me. Maybe I'm getting better at writing! :D**

**P.S.: One of the characters in this chapter has an accent. So it might seem like I'm leaving letters off, but that's just how the character sounds. ;D

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**Chapter 2: Shinigami

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"Kagome!" Miroku called as he ran up to her. She turned away from the coloring page she, Shippo, and the village children were filling in with crayons. She always thought of the kids when she went to the store – it was the largest box of crayons she could find. Kagome stood up as the kids continued to play.

"What is it, Miroku?" She asked as the monk stopped before her. Kagome knew that whatever it was, it was more serious than him getting chased down by a village mob because he inappropriately touched the residing authority's daughter…

"A message from a nearby village. They're being plagued by a spirit." Miroku recounted all of the spirit's "plagues," "Their fruit, especially apples, disappear, cats and dogs become easily spooked as if by nothing… and the worst part is, random people are dying from heart attacks – some of them as healthy as can be. They think this spirit causes these problems." He glanced at Shippo, who was listening anxiously. "They've asked that you solve it, as a miko, Kagome."

She nodded. "Alright. You stay here with the kids. Tell Kaede where I am." The monk also nodded, and Kagome was off.

Everything that Miroku said was true, and then some. The village was dwindling because fruit was one of their main food supplies, and all of the heart attacks were only decreasing their numbers all the more. Cats and dogs weren't the only animals spooked, either. Livestock such as cattle, sheep, and horses were scared away, leaving the villagers without a meat source or a mode of transportation. The only thing that was left to eat was stale bread and whatever leftovers they could scoop up.

Kagome promised them that she would stay until the spirit came, and to banish it, or at least make it so that it wouldn't bother them anymore. They hailed her, but quickly vanished into their homes, lest they should have heart attacks and die. Before the villagers left, they gave her a basket of apples – an "offering" for the spirit, they said. 'Wow… they're basically using me as bait. Thanks…' Kagome walked up to the middle road of the village, awaiting the spirit.

'Ok, so I'm waiting for a spirit that kills with heart attacks armed with a bunch of apples.' She blinked, and the image of the criminal at the convenience store flashed across her mind. She saw Yukio Kurosawa gripping his chest again, a dark aura slipping into his body and killing him. Kagome had made the connection a long time ago that the man was killed by Kira. 'This spirit… could it be… a past Kira?'

Kagome heard the flapping of wings behind her, and she spotted a large black bird in the sky. As it got closer, she found it was humanoid – and _very_ familiar… 'That's the Shinigami I saw at the café!'

He landed in front of her, taking an apple from the basket, crunching on it noisily. "I like this – now they're givin' me tributes from a miko? How nice. Maybe I'll stop killin' here now, let 'em think the gods have answered their prayers or somethin'."

"Tell me your name, Shinigami." Kagome demanded, keeping the basket from his grasp. He paused in eating the core of his apple, slowly turning to stare at her with unblinking eyes. She remained adamant, unafraid.

"Yeh can see me?" He looked over his shoulder. "I didn' drop meh Death Note, did I?" The Shinigami mumbled to himself. "No, I didn'…" He turned back to Kagome. "Who are yeh? I can't see yer name, but yeh can see me."

"I asked _you_ first," the priestess said, "If you answer my questions…" She thought of a reasonable "award", and then gestured to her basket of apples. "I'll give you an apple."

"I'm Ryuk." He said immediately. "Yeh're probably the first and only person I've ever heard of to be able to see Shinigami just by yerself." He mumbled to himself for a little bit, but Kagome couldn't hear what he was saying. From the tone, he seemed to be arguing with himself. 'Oh… kay?'

"What's a Death Note?" Kagome asked from his previous confusions. Ryuk snapped out of his reverie, putting his face up to Kagome's. It was awkward for a few moments as he stood there, unmoving. She sighed, handing him an apple, which he began to munch on.

" 'S what Shinigami use to kill. Since we can see yer names and lifespans above yer heads, we can write yer names down in the note to kill yeh." He pointed above her head to demonstrate. "Whatever's left in yer lifespan is added onto ours. There are lots of rules on usin' the Death Note, but that's no concern of a miko's." She sweat-dropped, knowing that he had told her more than he meant to, but Ryuk hadn't realized it yet. The Shinigami swallowed the core of his apple.

"What would happen if someone else got a hold of your Death Note?" Kagome investigated. If she could get this information, maybe she could pinpoint who the real Kira was in her time period… It sounded a little like her theory… but…

"Once it hits the human world, there's nothin' doin'," Ryuk grumbled, "If yeh'd pardon meh phrasin' and accent. I'm tryin' to work on meh speech independaments."

Kagome raised a brow (the expression having been learned from Sesshoumaru) at the made-up word. "Now let me ask a few questions about yeh in return."

"OK… sure, just so long as you don't use that Death Note to kill me." She replied, walking down a path into the forest, carrying the basket with her. Ryuk hovered beside her.

"Naw, we can't kill mikos with the Death Note. 'S against the rules, since you and yer people are servants of the gods." Ryuk said in his strange accent. It didn't alter his words out of proportion, but sometimes it seemed hard to understand him. "What yer name?"

"Kagome." She replied, finding a nice trunk to sit down on. Ryuk sat beside her, eyeing the apple basket. She rolled her eyes, tossing another apple to him. "Anything else?"

"Um, nope, that's pretty much it. I just really wanted to know yer name." He said, chortling. Suddenly, Kagome grabbed the earring in his right ear, and he choked on his laughter. "Uh – What cha doin', Kagome?" His ear slightly burned, and then she let go. He touched his earring – nothing seemed to be wrong. Ryuk look down at the smiling miko.

"I put a purification spell on your earring." Kagome replied, "So that you don't do anything you shouldn't. I understand that you need to kill people with your Death Note, but will you leave this village alone?"

Ryuk crossed his arms, upset he had let a _miko_, a _servant_, get the best of him. "And why should I? All I've gotten in return is a few apples and yer name."

"OK, I propose a compromise between us." Kagome turned to look up at Ryuk, basket in lap. "I'll ask the villagers to leave you two apples every day – one in the morning, and one at night. Does that sound nice?"

"Yeah, yeah, sounds great!" Ryuk said, hopping up. The miko stood up, handing him the basket. "Oh, boy! Apples!" Kagome watched as he shoved them into his mouth, and she suddenly formulated a plan.

"Hey, Ryuk," he looked up at her upon hearing his name, two apples stuffed in his mouth, "Can you promise me something?"

"Depends on what it is, darlin'." He replied. She blinked at him with the use of the pet name, shaking her head.

"In 500 years, when you see me again, will you come and talk to me about all of the things that happen in your life that year?" Kagome asked. Ryuk cocked his head at her. "But see me the day _after_ the first time you see me again. Please?"

"Yeh wouldn't live that long, girlie," he said, "So I suppose I could make that kind of promise." He totally fell into her trap, and she smiled.

"Alright, Ryuk," Kagome said, holding out her right hand. "Let's shake on it." He looked at her strangely, but mimicked her movement. Kagome took his large hand and shook it three times. "There. Don't break your promise, 'kay? Or your ear might be in for it…"

"Oh, no, not meh poor ear!" The Shinigami mocked. This made her laugh.

And so the two headed back for the village – the oddest pair one would ever see, Shinigami and miko.

* * *

"Ryuzaki." Watari said through the computer intercom system. "I have the information you requested. Would you like it right now?"

"Did you get more information on the Kira case, Ryuzaki?" Matsuda quickly started, excited at the very idea of being a step closer to catching Kira.

"Yes, thank you, Watari." L replied, ignoring the strangely hyperactive cop. Kagome's information popped onto the screen.

"Who's that? Is she a suspect? Or a victim?" Matsuda continued with his pointless questions, and then, when a picture was found, he said, "WOW, she's really pretty."

"MATSUDA, _PLEASE_!" L snapped at him harshly – more harshly than he meant to, in fact. "Stop asking questions. Go and do your job."

All of the officers looked up, curious as to what would make L this upset. When they realized it was just Matsuda being himself, they returned to their work. Matsuda sighed, going back to his papers, mumbling how everyone needed to lighten up a little, even if the case was serious.

"Her attendance is ghastly…" L murmured, and then stumbled out of his chair at the next bit of information. "WHAT!"

"Ryuzaki!" All of the cops came up to him, Mogi trying to help him up. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"How could someone get such an atrocious grade in simple Algebra II?" He exclaimed, climbing back into his chair, staring intensely at the screen. "She's barely passing!" He threw his arms out, as if to encompass the screen and throw it at said person's head. The others exchanged glances, looking back at L oddly. One after another, they went to their stations.

"Youkaitus? _That's_ obviously made up. And to have had mono _three_ times? Impossible!" L was becoming more and more intrigued by this mystery called Kagome Higurashi. She was hiding something, and he, the greatest detective in the world, would find out.

* * *

Kagome sat at her desk, staring down her worst enemy. She narrowed her eyes, drawing her weapon. The weapon would be sharp enough. However, fear froze her to the spot. How many times would she face her enemy until she could finally vanquish it? Would this encounter be like so many before? She threw down her weapon, groaning. 'I hate math!'

"What's your problem?" A familiar voice asked. Kagome turned to the window, discovering Ryuk. He hadn't changed much, now that she knew what he looked like 500 years ago. His earring – the chain with a heart dangling from it – seemed to be carved with delicate engravings of no particular meaning. "Kagome, it's been a while."

"Ryuk. I just saw you yesterday." The miko said, pulling out a bag of apples she had bought just after coming back through the well. His eyes lit up. "I see you haven't changed; you still love apples."

"I've changed my speech so that I'm understandable." Ryuk replied. "It's quite obvious that I have a better vocabulary. You helped me on that." He grinned – or, maybe he did, because he was always grinning. "At least, you're going to, my time traveling little miko friend."

"Did I tell you that?" Kagome questioned.

"I know about all of your little ventures. You don't have to tell me the epic story of the miko who vanquished Naraku, the most oppressing demon of the Feudal Era." He chuckled. "You have to promise _me _something now, miko, before I tell you my story like I had promised."

"What's that?" She said, putting the apples in a bowl, setting it on the bed.

"That the information you get won't go messing up the timeline – meaning, you can't go back and tell the past me what's going on. And you can't change it so that the future is different. Got it?" Kagome nodded, smiling. "You agree to it, really? Without having heard my story yet?"

"I probably told you to tell me that too, right?" Ryuk looked incredulous, and Kagome laughed. "I know better than to use present information in the past. Sure, I bring things from here to back then, but I use them responsibly and bring them back here."

"You said the same thing to me in the past. This is paradoxical." Ryuk said, grabbing an apple, gnawing on it thoroughly. "If you decided you weren't going to after I told you, you might not do it and then my speech impediments would come back." He brought one hand to his head. "Ow, headache."

"I think in over 500 years you might be able to fix your speech on your own." Kagome said, taking an apple as well. "And I thought it was speech 'independaments.'"

"Naw, I don' really think so, miss." Ryuk said in his old drawl. She glared at him. "I'm just messing with ya." Kagome smiled, taking a bite of her apple.

"So, your story?" The miko prodded, interested.

"Well, how do I start?" Ryuk pondered, "When you stopped coming back to the Feudal Era, I started getting bored again. And… uh, did some things that set your earring on full alert." He fingered the jewelry in his ear. "The engravings aren't decorations, y'know. You told me that the pattern grows for every… misdeed that I've done. So that you would know in 500 years."

"Yup, I'm sure that I did." Kagome said pleasantly. She examined the earring. "Looks like you did maybe 20 or so misdeeds… that's surprising for 500 years. Did you even it out at least – one misdeed per 25 year period?" She laughed at the sound he made combined with the expression on his face. "You'll have to tell me later about them before I decide to erase them or not."

"You can erase them?" Ryuk paused in fiddling with his earring. Kagome nodded. "You didn't tell me that."

"Probably to keep you from doing even more misdeeds than you already have." It was put bluntly, but it was quite true. If Shinigami know they have a loophole, they'd use it to the best of their abilities.

"Alright, back to my story. Last year, I was out-of-my-mind bored. I didn't realize that it was nearly the 500th anniversary of our meeting. So I told the Shinigami King that I lost my Death Note, and he gave me another one that happened to be lying around." Ryuk chomped on another apple. "Of course I was lying. I still have my Death Note, right here." He patted the notebook strung onto his back, bound in a cross.

"Then where's the other one?"

"This is the part you're not gonna like." Ryuk said, "You see… I had gotten to the point where it was boring to kill people, only doing it when needed. So… the other Death Note…" He took three or four apples to ensure their safety after saying "I dropped it in the human world."

Kagome retained the same posture and expression for a long, long time, except she wasn't blinking. Ryuk had not met Kagome when she was truly pissed, so he thought she was fine, eating an apple or two. Then a reaction came from her.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

* * *

**Mandy: Ahh, finished. What a wonderful way to end a story.**

**Kagome: Wait, you're just saying you're done with the chapter, not the story, right?**

**Mandy: Pardon me… that's what I meant. Don't get in a panic now. Well, it took me a while but here it is: chapter 2. My biggest headache right now (besides my wisdom teeth) is finishing chapter 3. I have no idea what direction I should go.**

**L: Well, with me capturing Kira, of course. And there should be a big parade. There should be candy. But all the candy goes to me. … Also, I want a pony.**

**Mandy: Uh… no. Definitely no ponies.**

**You got any questions, you just be asking me, okay? Any requests? I can take those too. I may or may not use your request though so don't be offended if I don't use it.**

**NEXT TIME!: Sota answers the door – a man with black hair? Who could it be, he wonders. Kagome's mind is in overtime – is Kira who she thinks it is?**

**Ahahah, I am SO evil.**

**Feed a writer – leave a review! -om nom-**


	3. Investigation

**Mandy: Hello, and welcome to the third exciting chapter! I had like a brain burst, and now the story is flowing! Thank goodness for my imagination. -grins-**

**L: This better be good, and there better be more of me in it.**

**Reader: There better be more Kagome and L moments!**

**Kagome: … what?**

**Mandy: SHHHH! The characters aren't supposed to know this! -pushes reader back through their computer screen-**

**Light: Mandy doesn't own Death Note or Inuyasha. Because she is a pathetic, whining loser who can't come up with anything original.**

**Mandy: Yeah, you just WANT a bad ending, don't you?**

**Anyway, enjoy! If you have a question, I can explain- no really. I overanalyze my fanfics to a critical point, making sure there are no loops. -nods- You should see the original written version – it has stuff written in the margins and everything. :D**

**PS: Thanks to everyone for the reviews! Guess what? My teeth don't hurt anymore! Yay! … but I can't eat sweets or popcorn for a month. T_T It's torture, I know!

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**Chapter Three: Investigation

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Sota looked up in the general direction of his sister's yell from his position sitting in the living room, video game controller in hand. He assumed she was "talking" to Inuyasha – or maybe some girl on the phone told her there was going to be a math test that she didn't know about. Those were some of the only reasons Sota knew for his sister to be yelling.

The doorbell rang, and Sota scrambled up to get it. He opened the door, revealing a man in baggy jeans and white t-shirt. The little boy gazed up at him, into his dark eyes lined with sleep-deprived bags, his black hair going every which direction. The man scratched the side of his leg with his bare foot. Like every other man he met, Sota compared him to his hero, Inuyasha.

He had the blank look Inuyasha would have, but Sota knew this man was smarter from the gleam of intelligence there, instead of the dullness of density in Inuyasha's eyes. Neither of them seemed to like wearing anything tighter than loose clothes, or shoes. Another definite comparison Sota found was that they didn't bother grooming their hair. He was even surprised to be thinking that they even had the same body type – seeming untrained, but actually very strong.

Sota, not even knowing his name, looked at him and suddenly liked him. Maybe he had some kind of aura that attracted kids – maybe he behaved like a child himself. Whatever the reason, Sota smiled.

"Hello," the man said, "You must be Sota. Is your sister home?" Sota blinked up at him. 'Who could this be, to know my sister, and to even know my name?' Sota wondered.

"I'll ask if she can come down. What's your name?" Sota asked the same words that Kagome would always pound into his head whenever someone came to see her and she was busy – usually it was just her trio of friends or that weird Hojo kid, though.

"Hideki Ryuga," he answered. Sota asked him to wait, closing the door.

"Sis!" Sota called from downstairs. Ryuk was saved from being tortured as Kagome came out of her room to look down the stairs at him. Her brother flinched under her angry stare. "Hideki Ryuga is here to see you. Do you want me to tell him this is a bad time or – ?"

"Ryuga, eh?" Ryuk said, snorting. "Isn't he the persistent one?" Kagome shot him a glare, and he flinched as well. She walked downstairs; patting Sota's confused little head, she went to the door.

"For a while, I didn't think you were going to answer." "Ryuga" said as she opened the door, walking in. "Then I would've had to use my authority with the police to get in."

"Why would you do that?" Kagome demanded as L strolled into her kitchen like it was _his_ home. She followed after him quickly. Ryuk floated above them, paying rapt attention to both. 'Damn distracting Shinigami… L can't see him, so he's going to be bugging me,' Kagome thought, giving herself a mental memo to hurt him when L left.

"Well, you did just go through a traumatic experience a couple of days ago, there are some people who would become a recluse and never want to come back out of their houses again." He explained with an ease that made Kagome uncomfortable. What else could he just blow completely away with these kinds of explanations? He was good at making excuses - that much Kagome could say.

"Alright, but what's your real reason for being here?" Kagome asked as he began rifling through her cabinets. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"You never finished your theory on Friday." L replied, fishing out a teacup and a sugar bowl from the cabinet. Kagome sighed, taking them from him.

"Fine, I'll make some tea. You couldn't even ask, could you?" Kagome set about to making it, secretly smiling at his forwardness.

"Why should I ask when I can easily make it myself?" He said, as if it was the most logical thing to say, which it probably was.

Kagome just looked at him, getting out another teacup for herself. "Go sit down over there, I can make it."

L had a strange expression, going over to sit down, but he took the sugar bowl from her when he did it. He looked strange sitting at her table, legs folded up against his chest. She wondered if L knew whose seat he was occupying at her family table. 'Of course not,' Kagome thought as she brewed the tea. 'He may be the greatest detective, but I doubt he could find that out.'

"So, _are_ you going to finish your theory, Kagome?" L asked, a thumb pressed to his lips as she added honey to the tea. A lot more honey then she meant to because she was staring at L. She blinked, looking at the tea, shrugging. 'I hope he likes sweet tea.'

"Well… since meeting you, it's changed very much," Kagome said, pouring her brew into a teapot and carrying it over. He stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "I have reason to believe you suspect Light Yagami of being Kira." She sat across from him as he stared at her blankly. It was so strange that his aura could be so unreadable at moments like this, when Kagome wanted to know what he was thinking the most.

"And why do you think that?" L took the teapot, pouring tea into his cup expertly, without looking. He kept his eyes on her as he started putting sugar cubes in his drink.

"I may not be very good in school, but I'm very good with people." Kagome answered, "L wouldn't want to be in public, and he's never been in public until now. The only reason he'd do that… is for a case he feels only he can solve." When Ryuk's head popped up from the side of the table, she nearly jumped – Kagome almost forgot he was here. The Shinigami watched the conversation with unblinking, bulging eyes. "Plus, Light Yagami's the smartest kid in Japan, his dad's Chief of Police, probably involved with the Kira case…" She shrugged, sipping a bit of her tea – the sweetness of it made her mouth tingle. "Who wouldn't suspect him?"

"So you did some research, I see. Or you just knew this naturally," he said, stirring the sugar cubes into his tea.

"My little brother updates me on everything he sees on TV," she replied – it was true. She didn't watch television that much because of her adventures into the Feudal Era, so Sota decided that she was deprived of present knowledge and told her everything he watched today – from the news to cartoons to documentaries. "There happened to be a documentary on the lives of some of the smartest students in the world. I had to sit and listen… to _all_ of it secondhand, through my brother." Kagome squeezed more honey into her tea, stirring it. What? It wasn't sweet enough. "Sota's become so enraptured with television I wonder if he ever remembers his hero is Inuyasha…" She mumbled, sipping on her tea which curled her lips from the honey sweetness.

"Inuyasha? Who's that?" L asked immediately. Ryuk laughed mockingly, nearly startling the poor miko again.

"He's a bonehead if I've ever met one – and I've seen plenty in the Shinigami Realm!" Ryuk guffawed, annoying Kagome thoroughly.

"Nobody too important…" The miko said, eyebrow twitching. Suddenly, Sota burst into the kitchen. "Sota!"

"Inuyasha is, _too_, important!" He cried out, "Why are you talking about him like that?"

"I've heard that it's rude to eavesdrop on people's conversations," the detective said, ignoring the outburst… for now, anyway. "You could start hearing things you might not like to hear."

"That was quite rude, Sota," Kagome admonished her little brother. "I don't burst in on you and your friends while you're playing video games, now, do I?" His face flushed red with shame.

"Aww, don't be so hard on the kid, he's just trying to protect his hero's image." L said, hopping off of his chair with some inborn talent, walking over to Sota. He ruffled the boy's hair, taking out a piece of candy from his pocket. "Here."

"Mom says I shouldn't take candy from strangers." Sota recited – Kagome knew their mother also said not to open the door to or even talk to strangers… but she guessed he "conveniently" forgot.

L blinked at him. "Your mom's smart, then." He unwrapped the candy, depositing it into his mouth as he sat back in his seat with his feet pulled up to his chest. "Now, where were we?"

"Ah… Sota, you go play your video games, okay?" Kagome said, smiling at her little brother. He blinked up at her genuine friendliness, so surprised that that was exactly what he did, leaving the room in a daze. Ryuk watched everything from the same position as before, the top of his head from his eyes and up visible as he glanced at both ends of the table, observing L and Kagome as if a tennis match was about to start up.

"I'd like to test you on something," L said, withdrawing pictures from one of his pockets. "These are confidential pictures from the Kira case. They are notes written by criminals before they died." Kagome went over to take the pictures, carefully so as not to trip over Ryuk. His fingers brushed hers on accident, causing both of them to jerk their hands back. When she went back to her seat, she managed not to squirm at remembering the warm feeling of his hand. It was… nice.

Kagome read them to herself. 'Suicide notes left by criminals? Does that mean Kira can control criminals before they die…?' Her gaze drifted toward Ryuk, and then it all hit her at once. 'Kira must be using the Death Note Ryuk dropped! It explains everything… but why didn't I realize this earlier? The reason he needs a name and a face…' Kagome blinked at the Shinigami, who knew she was figuring it out. 'Ryuk, are you trying to say that Kira is – ?'

"It looks like you found something interesting that I didn't see." L said suddenly, snapping Kagome back to attention. His wide, dark eyes bored into her soul as if looking for the answer to life, making her uneasy.

"Ahhhh…" Kagome looked down at the pictures, the first word of every line seeming to jump out at her. "No, I'm just reading this… 'L do you know that Gods of Death…'" Her eyes went wide as she read the next one. "… 'love apples'?" 'This person knows Ryuk! It has to be…'

L was silent for a while, and then said, "Yes, I saw that, too," he sighed, "I was hoping you'd see something new instead of the same stuff Light and I have seen." Kagome glanced over at Ryuk, who just smirked delightedly. 'I don't know… I'm seeing something new here but it would be hard to explain…'

"Wait… Light?" Kagome said. "You mean… he's on the case, too? But don't you suspect him?"

"Yes, but it's easier to keep an eye on him this way," L replied. "Don't you think so?"

"I guess so…" Kagome said, looking back at the pictures. 'I wish I could keep my enemies close like that. It would be _so_ much easier to defeat Naraku like that.' "Do you believe that Gods of Death are real?"

"Impossible," L answered, "There has been no record of such an occurrence outside of folktales, and I have never seen one. This case cannot be supernatural." She brought the pictures back to him, but instead of handing them to him, she put them on the table in front of him.

"That's sad… it would explain so much." Kagome replied, turning to go back to her seat. L grabbed her wrist, turning her back.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Ryuk backed up, floating by Kagome.

"Kagome, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to get involved in all of this Kira stuff… I advise you not to tell him too much. Besides, it would all be too hard for this logical guy to believe." The Shinigami tried to persuade.

L watched her, but she didn't reply for a while. It looked as if she was listening to something. "Kagome?"

"I meant that if the folktales were real, and people believed the supernatural, maybe this case would be easier." Kagome replied suddenly.

"I mean it, miko. I know your sense of justice. You don't want to get involved," the Shinigami advised again, turning around, "And it won't be _you _to wind up dead, and I wouldn't be able to stop it."

'What's he saying?' Kagome thought in a panic, frozen where she stood. 'That, if I revealed Kira or fought against him…' Her train of thought crashed as L took the grip on her wrist to yank her over to him. He had stood up, and he might've been taller than her if he didn't slouch. L was at eye level with her because of it – but he didn't watch her through the top of his head as he usually did, but straight on… just like in the alley, when he was trying to comfort her…

"Kagome, what's wrong?" He asked, his face coming closer – for a better observation of the small flash of fear in her eyes, perhaps? He was usually so good at reading emotions – what he saw on her face was not something he had ever seen directed at him before.

"I'm –" Kagome started, but she never finished.

That was because, at this prime, ripe moment, _Inuyasha_ decided to burst in.

Uh… oh…

* * *

**Mandy: Oh yeah, you love my cliffhanger, don't you?**

**Inuyasha: What? Why do I finally get in the story now, at the end of the THIRD chapter, and I still haven't gotten to say anything?**

**Mandy: In time, dear Inuyasha. Be calm.**

**Kagome: Why me? -sob-**

**Mandy: See? I told you I thought of something brilliant. Now ideas are pouring out of my pencil and onto paper. Yay!**

**I am soooo evil though. I laugh at my deliciously deviant evilness. Mwahahhahah!**

**NEXT TIME!: Inuyasha's entered the scene – who is that man who's so close to Kagome? GRRR! A hothead and a sharp tongue in the same room? Oh boy. Kagome's in for it. Ryuk laughs deliciously!**

**Yup. I am **_**totally**_** evil. -grins-**

**Feed a writer – leave a review! -om nom nom-**


	4. Annoyance and Frustration

**Mandy: The much expected fourth chapter is now here~! Thanks for 101 reviews! This is my first fic to have gotten over 100 reviews. That makes me sooo happy! I still have to update "Confessions of a Shadow King", however…**

**L: Finally. You said the ideas were flowing, so why post the chapter so late?**

**Mandy: … to be honest, it started flowing for like 2 handwritten pages and then I got stuck. But I managed to write about 3-4 more pages (I write the fics in a notebook first, then put little notes in the margins and edit while I type them up ^^)**

**Light: Mandy doesn't own DeathNote or Inuyasha. She wishes she did, though. So then she could take all of the… bishies? … Like me, perhaps?**

**Mandy: Eeeww, no. Bishies like L and Bankotsu, Sesshoumaru, and Koga, of course!**

**Sesshoumaru: Leave this Sesshoumaru out of this.**

**Bankotsu: -sharpens his Banryu threateningly-**

**Koga: … o_o;**

**L: … -noms on sugar cubes-**

**Mandy: Anyway, here's the long-awaited chapter! Please enjoy~!

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**Chapter Four: Annoyance and Frustration

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"Kagome, what are you–" Inuyasha said upon entering (more like bursting in), but froze when he saw her and another man standing _really_ close to each other. He would've been speechless… if he wasn't so incredibly and terribly hot-headed and impulsive, that is. In a flash, Inuyasha pushed Kagome back to get between her and the strange man. His claws extended, and he brought them up to his opponent's face. "Who the hell are you and what are you trying to do to Kagome?" Ryuk laughed at the site in front of him, obviously enjoying the conflict. Unfortunately for Kagome, she was the only one who could hear it.

L blinked at Inuyasha. "My, what strange ears you have." Ryuk began to laugh even harder, nearly starving for breath because of his mirth. Kagome was distracted by that laughter, getting more and more annoyed and frustrated, not knowing what to do. Looking down at his new adversary's hands, L said, "And what strange nails. Don't you ever cut them? What if one of them snags and rips your fingernail off? You would have a lot of blood all over if that happened."

Ryuk gave another roar of laughter, causing Kagome to snap. Almost as if on auto-pilot, she did what she shouldn't have done in front of one of the world's greatest detectives.

"Inuyasha, SIT, BOY!" She yelled, and his silver-haired head crashed to the floor and out of her immediate eyesight. Kagome glared down at him. "Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit!" Inuyasha cringed on the floor, his dog ears twitching from the pain. When she noticed this, she finally realized her mistake. She revealed something suspicious in front of _the_ L – who, if history didn't already tell her, was extremely disbelieving in nature and would start asking questions. And _a lot_ of them.

Kagome slowly took her eyes from Inuyasha's form to gaze at L, who stood watching the half dog demon with interest and amusement. "Sota's hero, I presume. You must be cosplaying for the young boy, right?"

Kagome was suddenly so relieved; it was hard to hide the emotions from her face anymore, especially from L. Inuyasha started to protest, but Kagome stepped on his head, preventing his words from being spoken. She kept her eyes on L, smiling. "Yup, that's right! This is… my friend, Inuyasha! However, he likes to portray me as a villain to my brother, so every time I tell him to sit, he pretends I'm sapping his energy from him." Kagome was surprised how easily she was lying to L. It was as if the old, stuttering Kagome – the one who had said "sip" as in sip vinegar, not sit – was replaced. However, it was no time to be proud of herself for lying to a detective, because, sooner or later – hopefully later, but most probably sooner – L would find out her secret.

"Inuyasha!" Sota cried as he walked in. "Sis, can you get off of his head? He needs to breathe, I think." Kagome forgot that she still had her foot there, and removed it; she stood firmly on the floor, knowing a fight between her and Inuyasha was most likely to start again. Oh hell, who was she kidding? There _was_ going to be a fight. Inuyasha was just the kind of person who would want to pick a fight over something so small, too.

Inuyasha got up off of the floor, facing Kagome, not even bothering to wipe off any residual dirt he might have on his pants. "What the hell was that for, Kagome? I come in, and I find some weird guy getting close to you – what am I supposed to do?" Inuyasha yelled at her.

"I'm not just some weird guy. I was just asking what was–" L tried to explain.

"Be quiet!" Kagome and Inuyasha both snapped at him simultaneously, causing them to glare at each other even more. L was undaunted by their anger, but, nevertheless, stayed quiet.

"That was for being impulsive! And rude! Couldn't you have handled that a bit more _calmly_?" Kagome admonished Inuyasha harshly.

"Feh. Whatever," Inuyasha said, pulling on Kagome's arm as he headed to the door. "We have to go. Miroku and Sango are in trouble." Kagome pulled her arm away from him.

"Why didn't you say this before? Baka!" She said, "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." Inuyasha grunted, giving L another nice, long glare before he left.

"I'll get your backpack around, Kagome," Sota said, wanting to be helpful. He ran out of the room before Kagome could stop him. Ryuk's laughter was slowly dying as Kagome turned to L.

"I'm really sorry about Inuyasha," She said, bowing. Kagome stood; she watched him hesitantly, scared that he would ask something and everything would instantly become worse.

"What's happened to your friends that Inuyasha mentioned?" He asked, sounding concerned… which lightened her heart for some reason. "What kind of trouble are they in?"

"With the way Inuyasha puts things, it's probably just Miroku being a pervert." Kagome hoped that was all, anyway. Funny, that.

"I'll come with you." L stated, taking one last sip of his now cold tea before setting it aside, standing in front of Kagome.

"Oh, no, I'll be fine," Kagome tried to reassure him, waiting for Sota to come with her backpack. 'Dang it, Sota… hurry so I can get out of here and away from this guy!'

"You didn't seem fine when a criminal had a gun to your head." He said, staring at her intently, making her want to squirm under such a soul-searching gaze. She made the mistake of looking at him eye-to-eye, and now she was enraptured by his dark, almost pupil-less eyes. He kept her attention so well she didn't realize that he had moved closer to her again. "Ka-go-me… what's your secret? Why are you such a… my-ster-y?" The way he whispered it near her ear gave her shallow shivers down her spine. Her name sounded like something else when he spoke it, but what that was, she didn't know. He didn't seem to notice her shivers – or, if he did, he chose to either ignore it or store it in the part of his brain as something he could use against her later.

"Kagome." Sota said, startling his older sister, and causing L to step back enough that she could think a little bit more. Sota dragged her hefty, bulging bag to Kagome. "Everything's there, but I couldn't find your bow and arrows." She laughed nervously; she was too jittery because of the confrontation only a moment ago to look at L's face.

"I don't need those, Sota… I'm not going to archery practice. I left them there anyway." Kagome quickly covered, trying to usher her brother out of the room. "Well, I have to go now, alright, bye-bye–" She fled to the nearest door, leaving two exceedingly confused individuals behind her.

Ryuga and Sota exchanged glances. "… Your sister's a terrible liar, you know that?" Ryuga said. Sota sighed, nodding.

"I'm really sorry, mister. I don't know what to do with her." He said as if he was talking about his own child instead of his older sibling, shrugging. He paused only to sigh again.

"Anything I should know about her?" Ryuga fished, hoping to get a few answers out of Sota before he had to leave and work on "important" things.

"Well, she's a klutz, and hates surprise tests and anything math-related. She _really_ hates math." Sota began, "She's also a little oblivious, like with this Hojo guy who comes around a lot. He brings her stuff all the time and asks if she's here… most of the time she's out, though."

Ryuga's eye twitched – a result from too much sugar, perhaps? "Oblivious… _really_?"

"Oh, and you know that dense, rash guy you just saw, Inuyasha? My sister's had a crush on him for a long time. I keep wondering when they're gonna realize that. Those two are so much alike, they kind of scare me sometimes." Sota said, "Anyway, my mom will be home soon, so…"

"Alright, thank you for the hospitality." Ryuga said, patting the little boy on the head in an awkward manner.

And then he just walked out the door.

* * *

"What took you so long, Kagome?" Inuyasha yelled at the distressed miko as he helped her climb out of the well. He handed over her bow and arrows, setting Kagome's bag aside. "We've got to hurry!" He ushered her onto his back, and he leapt through the trees.

"Inuyasha, what's going on, anyway?" Kagome shouted over the rushing winds. Tree branches whirred by at startling speeds; speeds that Kagome was almost used to by now. All that could be heard now was the rapid thump-thump-thump-thump of Inuyasha's feet as he ran at full steam.

"I told you – Sango and Miroku are in trouble! I sent Shippo back to Kaede to make sure he stayed safe," he answered before she had the opportunity to ask about her little adopted fox demon. 'Why is it that… he's only dense most of the time, but still manages to care for Shippo, who he usually despises and abuses?' Kagome wondered as they reached a clearing.

In the clearing, she found the strangest sight. Well, she would've described it as that, if she hadn't already seen stranger things. To Inuyasha and the rest, it might have looked completely different. They would have been seeing projectile apples being thrown at them out of nowhere, instead of just out of the hands of a trickster Shinigami.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango unleashed her large boomerang, trying to hit the source of the projectiles – however since the Shinigami seemed unaffected, it merely passed through him. Not that Sango knew this. "Coward! Why don't you come out and show yourself!"  
Miroku was just flailing his staff around, trying to block apples before they hit him. Some of them were deflected with his weapon, but most were deflected with his head. "Ouch! What kind of demon are you?"

"The easily bored kind," Ryuk said, picking up an apple and taking a bite out of it. He spotted Inuyasha coming right into the clearing, his eyes lighting up with glee as he aimed his half-eaten apple…

… Only to have Kagome shoot it right out of his hand with a bow and arrow, steadying herself on Inuyasha' back. Ryuk's eyes widened (even more, if possible) upon seeing the miko again. In a flash, he picked up all of the apples and set them in a basket, which happened to be by Sango's feet, trying to look innocent. Kagome clambered off of Inuyasha's back, hands on hips as she glared at the Shinigami. He held his hands out as if to say "Look – you caught me _red-handed_!"

"Ah, I'm sorry, Kagome. Ya know 'ow I am... can' give up on mischief, can I?" Ryuk said, floating towards the miko. "I wasn' gonna hurt 'em."

Kagome raised her hand to yank on his earring, using her miko powers to make him visible to her friends. This was difficult to do, and required a lot of energy, so she doubted she would be able to do something like this again. She only managed to stand upright because she was hanging onto Ryuk's earring. However, they both fell to the ground from the sudden pressure Kagome had put on his ear.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried, taking her arm in his arms. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I shouldn't try to make Shinigami visible again though." Kagome said, disappointed at that fact. 'I could've proved to L that Shinigami existed this way…'

Inuyasha let her stand on her feet, letting her lean against him for support. Ryuk floated back up, rubbing his ear. "What the hell is that?" Inuyasha said, pulling out the Tetsusaiga with the hand that wasn't holding Kagome upright. Miroku and Sango got into a battle position with their weapons, as well.

"That's Ryuk, a Shinigami. He's harmless." Kagome answered, looking up at Ryuk. "Isn't that right, Ryuk? You wouldn't want to lose that ear, would you?"

"Not meh ear! I need dat!" He said, still massaging his precious ear, swearing to himself to avoid contact with the miko unless absolutely necessary. "I'll be good, really! I promise!"

"Could you hand me that basket, Sango?" Kagome asked suddenly. The demon slayer blinked, strapping her boomerang to her back. She picked up the basket of apples, handing them to the miko. "Thanks." She pushed Inuyasha's arm off of her, and managed to stay standing. Great. Ryuk watched her curiously, fingers itching for the apple basket.

"I said I was sorry… now yeh wanna take meh apples? Anything but dat! … Or meh ear!" The Shinigami begged. Kagome smirked.

"Well… I _could_ give them to you…" Kagome said, "But I don't think I should give these potential projectiles to you." The horrified look on the Shinigami's face was enough to make a small child cry.

"Ya don' understand! If I don' get mah apples, I'm gonna get withdrawals!" Ryuk said, his legs beginning to make a strange movement, "It ain't gonna be pretty." The group watched with growing dread as his body began to convulse and twist parts that shouldn't bend in places that weren't that flexible.

And it dawned on Kagome… she would never once "forget" to give Ryuk his apples ever again.

* * *

L sat facing a computer screen, staring at it, unblinking. It wasn't uncommon to find him like this, looking as if he was in a coma… if it wasn't for the fact that he was shoving sugar kebabs into his mouth, that is. He had never been so frustrated in his life. He had never wanted to _throw_ something through this annoying feeling he was getting. The mystery that was the elusive – and, he had to admit, beautiful – Kagome Higurashi was consuming his time when he should've been working on the Kira case.

"Ryuzaki," Watari said, startling L, who turned to look at him, "Ah, excuse me. I was just wondering if you've made any progress with your new, eh… friend." L stared at him blankly. Watari chuckled quietly. "No need to give me that look. This is eating up your time faster than you downing those sugar kebabs. If you take a break and come back to it, you might come up with something new." Watari seemed to smile knowingly, leaving L bathed in the light of his computer screen.

Taking his mentor's advice, L set aside the issue to focus instead on the Kira case. He used his annoyance to further himself into the solving of the case. He was hoping that Kira might slip up and give another large clue like he did when L found out he lived in the Khanto region, but the only clues he had were the ones about Kira's "powers" and the note about the Shinigami. He doubted Shinigami were involved – he thought about Kagome when he told her that it was impossible that they were real. And then he was suddenly setting aside his work to pick back up where he left off on his… _other_ issue.

"I-nu-ya-sha…" he said with bitterness, remembering the strange dog-eared man and what Sota had told L. He didn't know what cloth his haori was made out of, but he did know it was a style of clothing from the Feudal Era. Maybe he could track Inuyasha through his clothing, to find out more about Kagome and maybe why she liked this obviously dense man. L glanced at a few sites about the Feudal Era, and quickly scrolled down each page, reading at a rate that would put even Einstein to shame. He was about to move onto another page, but he paused upon glancing at one of the pictures. He sat, staring.

It was an old painting, but that wasn't what caught L's eye. It was the people depicted in it. Standing on a cliff facing some form of demon was a man clad in a red haori, sword in hand. He had long silver hair and dog ears – but that wasn't all that tipped L off.

There was a girl in a short green skirt and white shirt with a bow and arrow aimed at the demon standing by the man's side.

L had read the page in less than 10 seconds – it was the legend of the Shikon no Tama. The painting was from more than 500 years ago. So why were people that he met more than five hours ago in a painting that was made more than five _centuries_ ago?

The detective narrowed his eyes at the picture. "Kagome, you just became even more interesting."

* * *

**Mandy: Ahaha. Plot twist? Or just a deviant way for the author to give you another cliffhanger?**

**L: I deduce that it is neither, and you're just making stuff up.**

**Mandy: OMG, how did you know! -flees-**

**Kagome: Ahaha, anyways, read and review!**

**Remember – I like bribery/update cookies. Feed the writer – leave a review!**

**_Updated/Edited 12/1/10_  
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	5. Teaching and Learning

**Mandy: OMG, a new chapter? I'm amazing. I even did awesome research. That makes me awesomely amazing.**

**Light: Mandy doesn't own DeathNote, or Inuyasha, etc. Insert lame disclaimer here.**

**Mandy: Why is it so dosh garn cold? *huddles in a blanket* I'm not so clever with the beginning stuff right now, so I present to you a new chapter!**

**READ IT. READ IT THIS INSTANT.

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**Chapter Five: Teaching & Learning

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Kagome sighed, thankful that there had been no major crisis on Saturday like she thought it might have. Sunday also passed by without any large incidents, just a few spats with Inuyasha (which was usual) and a couple of slaps to Miroku's face (which was odd because usually it was more than that). Kagome came to school on Monday, grateful for the disappearance of L from her life. Well, ok, she might've felt a little disappointed when she answered the door Sunday evening to see Hojo instead, but that _definitely_ had nothing to do with a certain messy black-haired man.

After enduring a hell-full of math that rattled her brain, Kagome walked to her history class, almost brain dead. Upon seeing the words "Feudal Era" written across the board, she perked up, suddenly happier knowing that she knew more than the rest of her classmates. She sat at her desk, and her neighbor, Yuki, immediately leaned over and whispered at her.

"Hey, do you know the substitute teacher?" She wondered. Kagome blinked at her.

"What? Why would you ask that?" Kagome asked, puzzled.

"He's been creepily staring at you with his thumb in his mouth since you walked in," she said, glancing over at the substitute teacher, blushing when she thought she got eye contact, quickly looking down at her history book. Kagome's blood froze chillingly, causing her to shiver as she looked up with a blank expression to catch the dark eyes of the person she least expected.

From the teacher's desk, in a chair with wheels, the detective sat there staring back, sucking on his thumb.

As soon as the bell rang, he leapt out of his chair, startling all of the students. They probably thought he was just a wax sculpture or something, because of his pale skin and that spooky way he has of keeping perfectly still. He quickly took out a marker and underlined "The Feudal Era" on the board as he walked down it, then wrote the name "Ryuzaki" in a corner in perfect character strokes, presumably the name for himself. He also wrote "Sengoku Period" under that.

"The specific time period we are about to talk about is a part of the Feudal Era, the Sengoku Period, which started exactly five hundred forty-three years, one hundred fifty-six days, eight hours, twelve minutes, and twenty-three seconds ago and counting,' he announced, immediately catching all of the students' attention at such a specific statement. "Today we will talk about this era's folktales and legends, and how they affected the way peasants and lords alike lived their lives."

Ryuzaki stared at Kagome the entire time he spoke, making her want to squirm. Luckily, none of her friends from that day at the Café were there to giggle and tease her. She could imagine what they would say, nearly shivering, but she didn't due to the attention focused direly on her.

Fortunately, most of the class time went by without too much tragedy. The desk chair incident gave a few laughs, where Ryuzaki leapt into his chair and spun in it without any damage. Kagome couldn't make any sense in it. He even continued his lecture as he spun, stopping upon finishing his current point.

"Last but certainly not least, is the legend of the Shikon no Tama." For some reason, Kagome felt like Ryuzaki put more force on his words now, as well as his stare on her, but she could just be imagining it. "Can anyone tell me about this?" Nobody raised their hand – they all looked back at Kagome. 'Of course they would… I'm the only one who knows everything about it and they know it too!' "Seems the class has already picked my volunteer. Kagome, would you come up to the front of the class and teach about this legend?" Kagome glared at all of her guilty-looking classmates as she stood up and walked past Ryuzaki, who leapt back into his chair, but not before saying as he walked by her, "This should be interesting, Ka-go-me."

Kagome stood before the class of faces ranging from disinterested to still giggling about Ryuzaki spinning in his chair beside her. "The Shikon no Tama is a legendary jewel that was made when the head priestess Midoriko sacrificed herself to protect her village from a powerful demon. Its name literally means the Jewel of Four Souls, which is because of the souls contained within it – Aramaitama (Courage), Nigimitama (Friendship), Kushimitama (Wisdom), and Sakimitama (Love). Midoriko had all of these spirits in their max capacity, which is how she was able to create such a powerful jewel.

"What the jewel did, exactly, you might be wondering about. Demons and humans alike lusted after it for its immense power, and whosoever could control it would be able to make a wish. That's why the demon slayers entrusted this jewel to a miko named Kikyo." She glanced over at Ryuzaki, who was staring at her intently.

"Go on. I want to hear the end." He said, gesturing as if that would make her go faster.

Kagome sighed, continuing. "An evil man named Onigumo was found by Kikyo, burned and dying on the ground. Kikyo tended to him, and he fell in love with her. However she was in love with someone else, and Onigumo was jealous. He then asked for the help of demons and became the evil Naraku, who betrayed Kikyo by killing her and also making it seem like her boyfriend tried to steal the Shikon no Tama.

"And so, the priestess Kikyo asked before she died that the Shikon no Tama be burned with her body. It disappeared from the world, forever."

The bell rang, startling all of the students out of their seats as they rushed out to talk about their strange sub that seemed so intent on staring at Kagome. She sighed, going to her desk to pick up her books. "What do you want, 'Ryuzaki'?" She asked, turning to face the infamous L, who began to erase what was on the board in a lazy manner.

"What do you mean? Teaching is a hobby I do sometimes," he said, setting the eraser down to face her. "You know the legend of the Shikon no Tama very well. I learned that the incident with Kikyo's 'boyfriend,' as you put it, is originated around the tree by your shrine. Is that true?"

"It may very well be. My Gramps always talks about the shrine's history, but I don't listen to all of it," Kagome said, shouldering her backpack. "Anything else you want to question me on? My Social Security? My schedule? All of my 'secrets'?" She was starting to get angry at him, being his nosy self. Now he was just downright stalking her!

"Oh, I already know your Social Security and schedule," he said easily. 'See! Just because you're a detective doesn't mean you should use that authority to stalk someone!' However much she wished to say this out loud, she didn't. "Now I just want to know what's so damned secret that you have to lie about being in an archery class, about Inuyasha, and about all of your supposed 'illnesses'!" He looked like he wanted to go over and shake the secrets right out of her. Kagome bet he would get her to spill her secrets if only he'd look her in the eyes as he had when they were alone in the kitchen, mere inches from each other.

"I have another class to get to, Ryuzaki," Kagome began to walk to the door, "So, if you'll excuse me –" Suddenly, he was in front of her, blocking the door. L took her hand and led her out of the door, "What are you doing? Let go of my hand." Kagome said, surprisingly calm. He pushed open the door and continued, leading her down the street.

"It's okay – you can just blame some disease, right?" He said, gripping her hand enough that she wasn't able to break out of it. She gave up after tugging a third time, catching up to his stride.

"Where are we going?" She sighed, finding L's stubbornness much like Inuyasha's, but used in a different manner… Inuyasha ran over you, but L bulldozed over you in exactly the way he wanted.

"Just a little field trip," he replied, turning a street corner. The rest of the way there – wherever "there" was – was silent. Then he began to walk up the steps of a museum… one about the Feudal Era. "Here we are."

"Are you so obsessed with the Feudal Era?" Kagome asked as he pulled her through exhibits. She was wondering how he even knew to pinpoint her on the Feudal Era and the Shikon no Tama… was it Inuyasha that tipped him off? Was it the strange way he dressed, in the cloak of a fire rat? No… he wouldn't know that. Would he?

"Oh, I just found something very interesting and I thought I would show it to you…" They were then standing in a room that was full of miko equipment; garbs, lists of herbs, bows and arrows, broken pottery for mashing ingredients, etc. 'Uh-oh… I don't like where this is going…'

"It's this exhibit that I really like," L dragged her to a glass case, and she instantly recognized its contents.

There laid an extremely tattered version of the very same uniform Kagome was wearing. It was hard to tell, though, because it had yellowed what had been white and faded and blackened that which had been green. There were dark droplets of what she could only assume was the blood that she had never been able to get out of some of her uniforms. This must've been one of the pair she'd had to abandon for traditional miko garb. Luckily, Kaede had taught her how to erase her presence (or DNA) from anything or place. How unfortunate that she couldn't erase her presence from history.

Kagome found other articles that belonged to her. Her bow and arrow lay broken in a case nearby, the string split and arrows that she didn't recognize. Then she caught her eyes on something even more familiar, in a glass case behind the ones she was currently viewing, and panicked. 'T-The Shikon no Tama? It – It can't be!' Kagome thought, eyes wide and fixed on the jewel which hung on a necklace, dangling on a stand collecting dust. 'It feels dormant, but it's definitely the Shikon no Tama, the real deal!'

"Have you been here before, or do you really like this period of history, Ka-go-me?" L asked, staring at her face.

"I just… think it's cool to see a part of history," 'Even if it's a history of me…' "This revolves around Kikyo and the Shikon no Tama, doesn't it?" L blinked once – Kagome could now say that she had actually confirmed that he _did_ blink, at least once in this lifetime.

"No," he said, pointing at the plate that described the exhibit, "This is for the priestess after Kikyo, 50 years after she had died, in fact." Kagome had been trying to avoid this little piece of history in her present life, not wanting to know such powerful information.

Suddenly, two familiar auras entered behind her, and Kagome spun around. There stood Light Yagami, Ryuk floating in beside him. Ryuk smirked at the miko, hovering over to stare at the Shikon no Tama in its cases, eyes filled with mischievous glee. Kagome couldn't watch him, though, so watched Light walk up to them with a friendly face…

"Hello again, Sango," Light said, waving at her and giving her a flashing smile. "It's nice to meet you again. You remember me, don't you?"

"Yes, Light. Ryuga-san tells me a lot about you," Kagome said. L nodded – all of the above which was untrue: L never told her a _thing_ about Light, except to confirm that he tough Light was Kira and that Light was helping with the Kira case (together in one sentence that almost makes no sense!). This, she supposed, was a lot to tell about a person…

"Well, he asked me to come. He talks an awful lot about you," Light said in reply, "I've never heard him talk so much in my life!" He laughed, smiling at Kagome with both eyes and mouth. It was a discomforting feeling for him to smile at her. It was like he was amused at her, not with her.

While they were speaking, Kagome heard Ryuk tap on the glass of the exhibit for the Shikon no Tama, "The real deal… I haven't seen this thing in over 500 years. Kinda funny, huh…" She could feel the Shinigami's eyes gaze down at her, but she ignored him.

"Yeah, sometimes I wish he would be quiet," Kagome joked, earning her a glare from L.

"I didn't call all of us together to chat pleasantly," L said, "I might as well be truthful. Sango's name is not 'Sango,' and she knows who I am, as well as what you and I are doing, Light." He announced this so suddenly that Kagome had no time to protest, having been shocked silent. She also felt a small pulse of power that went through her, but she shook it off, thinking it was just a figment of her imagination.

Ryuk chuckled. "Jig's up, Kagome. He's solving you out, bit by bit." Light's features twinged a tiny bit at Ryuk's statement, but he covered it up well with the surprise at L's little outburst. If Kagome hadn't been able to hear the Shinigami, she wouldn't have noticed it. 'I know you can hear him, Light… now I need to know if you can see him.'

"Yeah… sorry for lying to you, Light. My name's Kagome," the miko said, laughing nervously, "I lied to Ryuga first, so I thought I'd continue it because I didn't want him to know my name." She sighed, "Like it would've done me any good, anyway, knowing who he is."

"L and Kagome~ sittin' in a tree~" Ryuk said in a singsong voice, mocking her. Kagome felt like taking one of the sacred arrows out of the glass case and stuffing it down the Shinigami's throat. Her face turned red without meaning to, as L started talking about something that she wasn't quite following, because of her embarrassment. She managed to get her face under control by the time L turned to her, as if he had just asked her a question.

"Hmmm?" She said, trying to look attentive. The pulse of power that she felt had been imagined came again, and she finally recognized it, eyes widening. "What –"

"What's wrong, Kagome?" L said, seeming concerned as he stared up into her face. "Why are you so speechless? It wasn't that hard of a question."

"I mean… I didn't hear what you were talking about –" Kagome said hurriedly, until another pounding of that same power split through her head and caused her to squeak, which was better than what she wanted to do: scream. Light and L stared at her oddly, but Ryuk looked over at the source of the power with an amazed look on his face.

"The Shikon no Tama lives again," he said, awe evident in his voice, glancing down at Kagome, "Demons shall rise again."

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**Mandy: OOHH SNAP Now what!**

**Kagome: Not this crap again!**

**Mandy: You haven't even **_**finished**_** it the first time yet! That's what makes this so deliciously evil!**

**L: How is evil delicious? You always say that.**

**Mandy: Evil is **_**totally**_** a flavor.**

**NEXT TIME: Ryuk, what do you mean demons shall rise again? Familiar faces in the present time period! This is too much! Kagome's math book proves to be useful… in what way? **_**The suspense is way too much the author needs to update immediately but she won't until next month like usual! NOOOOoooo!**_


	6. Of Demons & Miko

**Mandy: Soooo I got some weird requests…. I'm sorry, but I can't do a few of them. I'm no good with lemon. I've never written lemon in my life. *watches as the readers start to use the back button* It's true, I'm sorry I failed you ;~; I sincerely doubt there will be lemon, and if there is it will probably not be your idea of lemon (there are ways of describing something without going too in-depth =/)**

**L: I still like my parade-candy-goes-to-me-and-I-get-a-pony idea.**

**Mandy: I got the weirdest review asking me to do that idea, L, and they said they'd pay me $100. o-o; I kind of doubt it.**

**Light: Anyway, Mandy doesn't own DeathNote or Inuyasha because she's too lame to ever actually own anything original.**

**Mandy: Yup, you're definitely getting a bad ending, mister. Anyway, please enjoy! I present to you, the sixth chapter!

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**Chapter Six: Of Demons & Miko

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He held a casual pose, flowing fluidly into another, his photographer going into photo ecstasy as he modeled the latest and most expensive clothes for a popular magazine cover – which was nothing short of what he usually did, this being the lower end of his job. He whisked past designers, fetching clothes from them as if not only did he pose for pictures – he moved as if the whole world were watching him, filming him.

As the model finished getting into his final outfit for the shoot, a familiar energy ripped through him, leaving him leaning on the wall slightly as he tried not to let this exertion show. Luckily, no one saw how his eyes seemed to gleam blood red, and how three green slashes suddenly emerged, as if from under his skin, turning jagged. His long bangs covered the crescent moon that also emerged on his forehead. Then, as quickly as it had come, his face appeared normal – if anyone had been watching his face turn demonic, they might've thought they imagined it. How could such an angelic and beautiful face ever be demonic in any way, shape, or form? It was impossible, of course.

His amber eyes flashed, and when he walked out of his room he called to his manager, Renée, in a clear, cold voice. She hustled over, clipboard in hand, mouth running a million miles an hour on her Bluetooth, which she was pressing into her ear with her free hand in order to hear the other person over the din of models being rushed to and fro. He waited impatiently for his manager to finish, glaring at her icily. She caught the glare, pausing in her speech – then promptly told that person to call back later. Renée watched him with clear black eyes.

"When my star model gives me that look, there's something wrong," Renée said in her American accent, "Do you need the rest of the day off? You've given plenty enough to this, I doubt they need anymore, Darling." She pat his arm, calling him by the English nickname she had given him. No matter how many times he subtly threatened her for calling him "Darling," Renée either didn't notice, or didn't care.

"Yes, I have some things I must attend to that just came up," the so-called "star model" said, "Tell them some excuse; I became suddenly ill, I have an important meeting to attend – something. You know what to do."

"Of course, 'My Lord,'" Renée mocked, bowing, scuttling off to find the photographer. He wondered how he was ever able to come across such an organized and loyal employee in his life. No, he meant person, not employee. He had had many loyal servants, but none of them could shine a candle to Renée's faith in him. It was a strong bond of friendship – nothing more, and nothing less. Even if she was a sarcastic little monster sometimes, she was still the only true friend in the world he had now.

Sesshoumaru Taisho stepped out onto the street.

* * *

He and his children ran around the yard, tackling their father in hopes of pinning him down. So far, he had one straggling onto each of his arms, and another hugging his leg tightly. It didn't slow him down as much as it would a normal person. The mother, along with some of the other children, sat and watched on the porch, entertained. Finally, one of the older boys tackled his father's midsection, causing him to collapse. All of the others who had been caught up with the chasing dog piled (in an appropriate manner) on top of their father, laughing. Their mother laughed delightedly, patting her full, round stomach, ripe with _yet another_ child. Luckily they had no neighbors, otherwise they would be wondering if these people knew the meaning of birth control.

Two uncles were teasing some of the children on the porch, telling them impossible stories of adventure that most of them ate up. Still other children were wandering about the yard, watching bug life and plants with wide-eyed wonder. A large burst of laughter caught everyone's attention, as their father struggled out of the dog pile with a playful roar.

Suddenly, a pulse of tremendous power left most of the children about to cry, and the older family members flinched, fangs bared. The mother, the father, and the uncles exchanged looks, ushering all of the children back in the house to get ready for dinner. When they were the only four left, they stood in silence.

Koga, Ayame, Ginta, and Hikaku looked back and up into the sky.

* * *

She did the shrine's regular rituals, something that each generation of her family's women had been taught. The meaning of these rituals had been lost through time – they were now merely fancy rituals to show tourists occasionally who happened to come. Unlike her younger sisters, she did these rituals with pride, and an unknown cause that she was certain was there. She often imagined what the rituals could mean, practiced over and over as they had for hundreds of years. If they kept the tradition, there must be some purpose to it, and it must've been working.

'Everything must be done precisely… nothing to interrupt my perfect concentration…' She thought as she murmured the chant, hands together as she sat on her knees. She lit fresh incense sticks, laying them out on the altar on the plate they had owned for centuries.

And then, suddenly, it was as if time slowed as some of her younger siblings came in, laughing as they accidently bumped into the altar, its contents becoming strewn and broken on the floor. The elder sister watched with wide eyes as herbal essences spilled, their cups smashed or cracked across the floor, as well as all of the incense sticks, smoldering next to their broken plate. Everything was silent as the younger siblings contemplated what they did – they could not even imagine what might happen if the ritual was stopped so thoroughly like this. They also did not want the wrath of their sister upon them, and so scuttled out of the room quietly as that sister gazed down at the altar, feeling shame upon her.

A strong pulse of pure power startled her, and she now knew what the ritual was for – _why_ it had to be done, and the consequences of not finishing it uninterrupted. The herbal essence spilled over to the incense sticks, causing them to sizzle out. The sound seemed to wake up her mind to what her true purpose was.

She was a priestess; Kikyo knew what to do.

* * *

Kagome stood, frozen, staring at the slightly glowing Shikon no Tama. L wouldn't sense it, of course, but Light was probably terribly confused by what Ryuk was saying. "Um… what – what exactly did you say?" Kagome asked L, trying to get some normalcy back as she dragged her eyes reluctantly away from the Shikon no Tama.

"Never mind that. Are you alright, Kagome?" L asked, "Your face has gotten quite pale, and thrice you have stopped in midsentence." 'He's too damn attentive. This is bad…'

"Kagome, you've got to get this thing out of here," the Shinigami said in a panicked tone. "The Shikon no Tama's lightin' up like a beacon to all the demons in the world."

"Yes. Yeah, I'm fine," Kagome said in a rush, going over to the glass case holding the Shikon no Tama. She wondered if they could see that it was slowly glowing brighter. They followed her, puzzled as she tapped on the glass with her finger. The jewel burned even brighter, as if knowing its owner was close by. The glass was not very thick, luckily. She had to find a way to get into it without breaking the Shikon no Tama (_again_) as well.

"Kagome-san, what are you doing?" Light asked, standing next to L. The detective leaned down and examined the jewel, wide-eyed. 'Maybe they _can_ see it glowing.'

"I need to get the Shikon no Tama out of here, fast. There isn't time to explain." Kagome hoped that they would understand her as she plopped her bag on the floor so she could dig something out of it.

"There's plenty of time to explain the theft of museum property," L reminded her, "Which I'm obviously not going to let you do. Is that what you are? A thief?" Kagome dragged out her math book, standing up to glare him down – he barely flinched.

"_You've_ seen my criminal record – _you_ tell _me_!" She said, and then proceeded to smash her math book into the side of the glass case. It splintered, glass tinkling to the floor. "Finally, an actual _use_ for my math book!"

"_Are you out of your mind?_" L and Light said simultaneously, causing them to exchange glances. Kagome used that moment to swipe up the Shikon no Tama and turn to flee out of the museum. They looked back at her just as she was scooping up her backpack. "Wait!"

"No way! You guys don't understand what's going on, so you're just gonna turn me in when I'm just trying to save you!" Kagome shouted back as she slipped into the next exhibit, out of sight from L and Light.

The detective and the student looked back at the destroyed case in amazement, and then in the direction Kagome had run. They were too stunned to move yet. There was a loud explosion that made both of them jump, and they saw her running back to them, every swear word ever invented coming out of her mouth. Another crash – the hallway she exited was now a gaping hole holding a huge human-like beast, with bulging eyes and sharp teeth. It looked as if its muscles were all on the outside, or as if it had no skin. Kagome grabbed L and Light's arms, dragging them towards another exit.

**"Give me the jewel, girl, and I will let you live!"** The demon behind them boomed in a tremendous and loud voice, smashing any and all exhibits in its way. **"**_**Give me the Shikon no Tama!**_**"**

"People who want this thing aren't just going to let me walk away and live! You know I'll fight to get the Shikon no Tama back!" Kagome shouted, practically throwing L and Light out of the door she found. She pointed at them when she came outside, barring the door with miko power. "You two, get the hell out of here. Don't bother contacting the police about seeing demons, since they either won't believe you, or won't investigate because there are evil demons even on the task force – trust me." Kagome told them, pushing them up the sidewalk. Light looked bewildered – somehow, L remained calm, even though this was probably the most exercise he'd ever gotten without eating a bowl of sugar first.

"I'm not going until you tell blame what's going on, Kagome." L said stubbornly. Impetuously, before Kagome could even stop and think about her actions, she slapped him.

"Don't you understand that I'm trying to save your asses?" Kagome scolded him, "Any demons that come are my responsibilities. It must've been my presence that activated the dormant Shikon no Tama," She shook her head. L stared at her, completely stunned. "Anyways, call Watari and get to safety." She ran around the block, to the front of the museum, "If you don't, I won't forgive you!"

* * *

_Ba-dum._

_ Ba-dum._

_ Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum…_

The pounding continued through the darkness, _ba-dum, ba-dum_ echoing endlessly. The beat was slow, but it throbbed as if it was the very essence of life. There was absolutely no sound except this massive beating – _ba-dum, ba-dum_ – it was coming from everywhere yet seemed to come from nowhere.

This place had not seen light, heard sound, breathed air, nor felt anything for over five centuries. The sound then seemed unwelcome to any ears that had become used to such aching silence, in the complete darkness. It became annoying, this nonsensical beating of pure power –

Eyes opened wide, revealing red irises. They realized what this power was. They had not opened in so long – why wake up from the blackness only to find even more of it? – and they drank in the beating, pounding energy. An arm moved; a hand flinched. It was trapped and constrained with many different spells – all easily removed with a flex of the newfound power. And then the darkness vanished, and light blinded the eyes for what felt like hours but could have possibly been minutes. The eyes cleared – they could now see, after so many centuries closed and bound together.

The light revealed a long black-haired man, his red eyes scanning the landscape, his face still hidden in the shade of a tree. Nothing could hide the evil red-lipped, fanged smirk. He was free, totally and utterly free.

Naraku laughed as he stood under the God Tree, near a small shrine…

* * *

Kagome ran back into the museum, finding owners and museum goers alike gawking at the damage the demon had done. She heard people scream and cry out as they fled past her, pushing her into one of the owners. Kagome quickly pocketed the Shikon no Tama as the owner stared down at her.

"I don't believe it. Satoshi was here one moment, and then, the next thing I knew, a demon stood in his place and started rampaging through my museum!" The owner exclaimed, eyes wide. "You saw it too, didn't you?"

Kagome nodded, glancing over at some unbroken cases. "Do you have any bows and arrows? I could fight off the demon for you."

The owner laughed, half-crazed. "Yeah, sure! Just smash into one of the cases, or just find one that isn't! Might as well – the demon will destroy it all anyways if it isn't stopped!" He ran off, presumably into a back office, laughing maniacally. 'Poor guy… I wish I could think this was just a nightmare too.' Kagome thought sympathetically.

However, Kagome didn't have time to ponder over the existence of demons. She had to get rid of the one rampaging in the museum before someone got hurt, killed, or eaten. Bystanders watched with wide eyes as she smashed a case with her math book, withdrawing the bow and quiver it contained, which were in eerily pristine condition. The miko tossed her bag and math book aside, testing the bowstring, which was surprisingly as strong and tight as it needed to be.

**"Miko!"** The demon screeched, **"Where are you? I know you came back. Your 'duties' overwhelm you as you want to protect these disgusting mundanes."** Kagome found him about to catch a little boy, who was scurrying away as fast as he could, screaming for his mommy.

"HEY!" Kagome yelled, gaining the demon's attention. The little boy darted past her, hopefully into his mother's loving arms. "Pick on someone your own size, why don't cha?" Kagome drew an arrow quickly, aiming it into the demon's chest as he came at her, and let it loose.

The room was lit with pink light. The demon vanished – the sacred arrow left no blood, no trace of it, besides the ruin of the museum. Kagome hadn't known they were sacred arrows – in the same museum as the Shikon no Tama, no less! This had obviously already been known… a plan set out to destroy a lesser demon from 500 years in the past? What was going on?

* * *

**Mandy: End chapter. I just thought that everyone ought to know, but the song "Don't Tread on Me" by Metallica was what I was thinking when I got to the "badum badum" part. And there are a lot of lines in this chapter. Because I like to get the views of all the characters :3  
**

**Kagome: WHICH REMINDS ME. WHY DID YOU BRING NARAKU BACK?**

**Mandy: Bringing back popular villains is fun?**

**Band of Seven: …**

**Mandy: No. Quit it. I WON'T DO IT BAND OF SEVEN GO AWAY *flails***

**Next time!: Coverups! L comes up with a brilliant plan to do so! **_**What's this? A KISS?**_** You don't wanna miss it! **_**And you know that it's gonna be forever until this author updates and she gives you this cliffhanger? **_**NOOOooooo we hate you forever!**

**Mandy: No you don't, you still love me~ *heart* Or, you will love me if you want me to update :3**

Feed a writer – leave a review! (and bribery cookies too! Those are good.)


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